Football’s Joe Reynolds sprints through the end of the three-cone drill. A competitive time to complete the drill, which totals 30 yards and includes several 180- and 90-degree turns, is 6.5-7 seconds. “It’s exciting to be part of this cutting-edge research with these elite athletes at Michigan,” says Grant Goulet, PhD, senior engineer in research.

Football’s Joe Reynolds is captured in mid-flight as he executes the broad jump. Vertical jump, broad jump, and three-cone agility require tremendous core strength and stability. The NFL Scouting Combine uses these tests to assess potential draft picks.

At Al Glick Field House, football’s Joe Reynolds is assessed for his maximal vertical jump by Grant Goulet, PhD, senior engineer in research. Working with the varsity football and basketball players helps researchers evaluate the biomechanics of sport maneuvers and the performance advantage afforded by new technologies.

Trey Burke sails through the broad jump, which requires explosive power for distance, as well as core stability to stick the landing without taking any additional steps.

Basketball’s Max Bielfeldt executes an impressive version of the broad jump as the research team evaluates his performance.

Basketball’s Corey Person springs into action for the maximal vertical jump test. Along with a three-cone agility drill and broad jump, this test is used to assess innovative ways of enhancing the athletes’ core stability.

Basketball’s Tim Hardaway Jr. seems pleased with his vertical jump performance.

Basketball’s Tim Hardaway Jr. executes the maximal vertical jump test at the Player Development Center. It’s just one way U-M researchers and athletes are helping assess innovative ways of enhancing athletes’ core stability.

Danielle Williams, research assistant and study coordinator, prepares equipment to ensure accurate measurements of the athletes’ performance at the Player Development Center. “This research will be important to develop sports technology that will keep athletes healthier and enable weekend warriors to stay more physically active across their lives,” says School of Kinesiology Dean Ronald Zernicke.

U-M basketball athletes Corey Person (left) and Trey Burke (right) receive instruction from Grant Goulet, PhD, senior engineer in research, on how to perform an agility drill on the practice courts of the Player Development Center. The results of the study will assist adidas in designing and developing products to enhance athletic performance and injury prevention at all levels of competition.

Using motion-capture technology and force plates, researchers examine the athletes’ joint angles and torques, which can be used to assess performance and risk of injury. Artificial turf was installed in the lab to reproduce the athletes’ typical playing surface.

Roy Roundtree executes a quick deceleration in the MedSport motion-capture lab at Domino’s Farms. The football player is planting his feet on two force plates, which measure the amount of force applied to the ground during movements. Forces often can exceed several times one’s body weight.

Grant Goulet, PhD, senior engineer in research, puts the finishing touches on wide reciever Roy Roundtree for full-body motion capture. A headband with four markers is used to track the position of Roundtree’s head during dynamic movements.

School of Kinesiology, College of Engineering, and Medical School researchers, in collaboration with U-M Athletics and the adidas Innovation Team, will use cutting-edge techniques to analyze and develop the next generation of performance products for athletes. With the help of 12 infrared cameras, motion-capture software tracks the position of various markers in space and creates a computer model of the athlete.

Global sportswear leader adidas recently awarded the U-M School of Kinesiology a grant to gain insights into how innovative wearable technology can improve performance and reduce the risk of injury. First step: Preparing wide receiver Roy Roundtree for motion capture at the MedSport lab at Domino’s Farms. Here, Grant Goulet, PhD, senior engineer in research (left), and Jason Russell, research assistant (right), apply small retroreflective spherical markers on specific anatomical landmarks across Roundtree’s body.